It's easier to have a good soccer defense than a good soccer offense because soccer defense is about destroying (or disrupting) and offense is about creating. Rec teams can have a decent defense by simply putting tough, aggressive players near the goal you are defending and having them kick the ball away. By doing so, the opponent must start the soccer attack over each time and if your Midfielders or Forwards can win those cleared balls, then not only do you have the opportunity to attack and score, but you keep the ball away from the opponent so the opponent can't score.

On the other hand, to score against a good defense usually requires a coordinated effort involving several players and skillful soccer passing, dribbling, teamwork and doing the right thing at the right time. One mistake "one bad pass" and the attack ends with the ball either kicked away or with the opponent gaining possession of the ball. And even if the attackers are successful in getting close enough for a decent shot, the ball must still get past the Goalkeeper and go into the goal for a score to count.

There's an old saying "Learn to crawl before you try to walk and learn to walk before you try to run".

When deciding which Attacking Style to teach your team, you MUST be realistic or you will be disappointed, your team will become frustrated, you will be unsuccessful and no one will have much fun. Let me use an analogy: If you decide you want to learn to juggle tennis balls using your hands, you will first start with one or two balls � you won't start with 4. I actually learned how to juggle tennis balls and started with one, then two, then 3. I never got to 4 because I didn't want to dedicate the time to practicing.

When deciding what Attacking Style you will teach your team, you MUST be realistic about your player's abilities, the number of weak players you have on your team, and the amount of soccer practice time you have. The Attacking Style you can successfully use with a team of all great players that practices 3 hours per week year-round and has been together for a year (e.g., a Travel team) will be different from the style you can successfully use with a Rec team that has a mixture of players (some good and some weak) and only practices one hour per week.

In brief, don't expect a Rec team that has weak players and only practices once a week to be able to play the same Attacking Style as a Travel Team that has all great players and practices for 3 hours per week. Why does the number of weak players matter? The reason is because if you try to use a "Possession" style of attack they are like "weak links in a chain". I don't say this to be mean, just to make the point that it is a factor you must consider when choosing an Attacking Style. If you have 3 players who can pass the ball and one who can't, a short passing attack won't work if it involves the player who can't pass. This is why in some ways Rec coaches have a tougher job than Travel Coaches, and the Attacking Style that is realistic for a Travel Coach might not be realistic for a Rec Coach.

The ideal Attacking Style would be to control the ball when you attack. Since we know that a player can't dribble very far against good defenders, it would seem logical that the best way to control the ball is by passing it, and that's true. That Attacking Style is called a "Possession" style (or a short passing style or an "Indirect" style). Ideally, the team with the ball would control the ball all over the field, even if the ball is near your own goal (which is called the "Defensive Third"). In fact, many professional teams play this way. But it's also true that not all professional teams play this way, and not all National Teams play this way. The reason is that it's difficult to make lots of consecutive short passes and if you turn over the ball near your goal, your opponent might score. Think about U.S. football: Most of the time a team will punt on fourth down if they are within their own 35 yard line (which is their Defensive Third). The reason is because it is too risky if they were to turn over the ball there.

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